B-Movies & Couch Classics
Reviews of Movies Often Overlooked of Forgotten

Almost Famous
R, Universal Home Video


by Arik Ben Treston

One of last year’s best films, Almost Famous, finally makes its home-video debut. Written and directed by Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Say Anything) and loosely based on his own past as Rolling Stone magazine’s youngest writer, Almost is the story of William Miller (played by the very talented newcomer Patrick Fugit) who, at 15, gets to write a story for Rolling Stone. His travails lead him to Stillwater, a new band that’s on the verge of great success (hence the title). Pretty soon, William begins to experience the grand and awesome start of the end of rock music as it was known in the early ’70s, right before disco rolled in and wiped it out.

His experience with the band includes getting to know the “band-aids,” who would shoot you a wicked stare if you referred to them as “groupies.” The leader of this group is Penny Lane (Kate Hudson, in the role that earned her a Golden Globe and garnered her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the upcoming Oscars). Hudson plays Penny with a gleam in her eye and a wiser-than-her-years poise that burns through the screen. Penny introduces William to Stillwater and eases his way into the rock world. While Hudson may share some similar traits with actress-mom Goldie Hawn, this performance is all hers and she nails it with grandness and precision.

William begins to tour with the band to get his full story, much to the dismay of his hippie-professor mom, played by the Oscar-nominated Frances McDormand (Fargo, Wonder Boys). She hates that he’s going out into this world full of sex, drugs and, well you know the rest, but she accepts the fact that her son needs to do this.

The band is a fractured mess, led by Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) — though the lead singer is actually Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee - Mumford, Mallrats). This tension in the band is pure gold for William as he gets to watch the band go through all levels of disintegration.

The film is more than a boy discovering his talents and becoming a man; it’s more than a road-comedy that tracks the journey of a rock band; it’s a snapshot to a time and place that we will never get to visit or experience again (or, if you are like me, weren’t even born yet). This piece of art transports us back in time and lets us become living witnesses to a truly amazing time in our music history while telling a superb story about family, love, relationships and redemption. Whether you are into classic rock or whether you just like today’s uh, stuff, this movie will affect you and stick in your mind for a long time to come.